Popular Festivals

Until recently, music occupied a functional role within British society.

From childhood onwards, singing was a way to pass on information, to make chores go quicker and to bond communities.

The humble British pub began a fulcrum for folk song. Even now, the pub session sits at the heart of traditional music, a means for musicians to swap ideas and take songs in a fresh - often quite sozzled - direction.

The Rails decided to take a few friends on a pub crawl recently. Kami Thompson and James Walbourne grabbed their instruments, ran up a bar tab and breezed through some fresh material at locations around London.

Joining them were the likes of Mercury nominee Ed Harcourt and legendary folk artist Linda Thompson - Kami's mother. Clash is lucky enough to be able to showcase the two resulting clips, one of which you can see today (August 1st) while the second will be premiered next week.

The first instalment was filmed in two traditional pubs: Notting Hill's The Cock & Bottle and Gospel Oak's Southampton Arms.

Both supply beautiful settings, and - amidst much imbibing of ale and whiskey - The Rails & Co. return deeply effecting performances, given arrangements unique to these clips.